U.S. agents aid in probe of where teen got AK-47

November 25, 1993|By Michael James | Michael James,Staff Writer

Federal agents are assisting city police in trying to determine how a 17-year-old boy got the AK-47 assault rifle allegedly used Monday to kill a 13-year-old boy in a spray of gunfire at an East Baltimore apartment complex.

The teen-age suspect, Marquis Dayvon Bryson, told police he had the semiautomatic weapon "for quite a while," but refused to say how he obtained it, said Sgt. Gary Childs of the city police homicide unit.

Roy Cheeks, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said authorities are attempting to trace the weapon's origin by its serial number.

"Hopefully it wasn't passed around too much," Mr. Cheeks said. "If it was, it may be difficult to trace."

The primary purpose of the trace is to determine if the weapon -- a common brand sold on the market for between $600 and $700 -- had been stolen, Mr. Cheeks said. But authorities said they also hope to learn how a teen-ager could have obtained an assault rifle and ammunition.

The Bryson youth is charged with first-degree murder and deadly weapons offenses in the firing of about a dozen bullets into the Hollander Ridge public housing project in the 2400 block of Odell Ave.

Killed by a bullet that passed through a window was Lawrence Miller of the 1100 block of N. Port St.

Police suspect the shooting may have been the result of an argument the Bryson youth was having with a 19-year-old man who lived at the apartment where Lawrence was slain.

The rifle was recovered the next day in a bedroom closet of a West Baltimore home. The weapon had been hidden there by a teen-age friend of Marquis Bryson, police said.

Police said the rifle was loaded with 61 bullets when it was recovered. Investigators also seized two "banana" ammunition clips, one of which had 11 bullets. The other was empty.